This Is Why Bindi Irwin's Wedding Was Ruined

Bindi Irwin's wedding plans were derailed in more ways than one. The young conservationist had been looking forward to marrying her longtime love, Chandler Powell, and was working out the details of their special day when the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. The couple initially planned to marry on April 4th, 2020 at the Australia Zoo and have all of their friends and family at their wedding, but eventually decided to move up the date and not have guests at the event out of concern for everyone's safety. They ended up tying the knot in a small, private ceremony on March 25th, mere hours before Australia implemented strict quarantine restrictions. Irwin told People magazine, "We thought about postponing, because you want to share this day with everyone, but when it boiled down to it, we both just said, 'Look, we desperately want to get married, and no matter what the future holds, at least we'll be husband and wife. We can take on the world together.'" It was a beautiful ceremony, but not the one Irwin had planned on. In the caption of an Instagram post, Irwin wrote, "We've planned this beautiful day for nearly a year and had to change everything, as we didn't have guests at our wedding. This was a very difficult decision but important to keep everyone safe. Right now we're encouraging the world to hold onto hope and love, which will carry us forward during this profound time in history." Still, Irwin was determined to make the best of things. In another Instagram post, Irwin wrote about how difficult it was to change all of her wedding plans, but that local vendors worked with her to make sure that her wedding went off without a hitch. Things might have fallen into place if the paparazzi hadn't crashed her wedding, forcing Irwin to change the venue as well. Irwin opened up about the unpleasant surprise in her Instagram post, writing, "On our wedding day...the paparazzi flew over us in a helicopter scaring our wildlife. We had to leave our stunning wedding venue on the African Savannah for their safety. I said goodbye to the place I had dreamed of getting married for so many years. At that moment I remembered the filming barn where I'd spent much of my life with my family...I knew we could make it work and our zoo crew helped us to move everything inside." Irwin was understandably frustrated, but she made the best out of the stressful event. Even though nothing, aside from her wedding dress, which she had picked out months earlier, was as she had originally planned it, Irwin refused to be upset and was able to appreciate the miracle of her big day. She went on to say, "I watched love win. I was there in my wedding dress, husband-to-be by my side, moving tables and flowers and trying to make our day finally become a reality...I missed the people who couldn't be there, my dad, Chandler's family, our dear friends, my family. Chandler stopped what he was doing and sat next to me. I asked him to list me happy things. He proceeded to remind me that love ALWAYS wins." Things may not have gone as planned, but Irwin was still able to get the ultimate wedding video, since it was filmed for Crikey! It's the Irwins: Bindi's Wedding. Ahead of the wedding, Irwin was recorded for the special saying, "We just want to get married before the world changes...We're going to change everything and we're just gonna make it work." In spite of all the setbacks, Irwin and Powell did indeed make everything work. The chaos proved to be the first big challenge of Irwin's married life, and it gave her now-husband the chance to step up to the plate. Irwin told ET about how her hubby helped her through the whole ordeal, saying, "Chandler has the most calming presence. He was very nice just to say, 'Everything's gonna be OK.' But it was crazy." Watch the video to see This Is Why Bindi Irwin's Wedding Was Ruined.